


Here's My Hand

by TheEndeavorNetwork



Series: When You're Not Saving the World [1]
Category: DC Cinematic Universe, Man of Steel (2013)
Genre: Adolescent flirting, Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Clark is 13, Clois, F/M, Lois and Clark are teens, Lois is 15, More like Childhood Crushes, The Lanes move to Smallville, rescuing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-04
Updated: 2018-01-09
Packaged: 2019-02-28 04:40:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13263891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheEndeavorNetwork/pseuds/TheEndeavorNetwork
Summary: Lois's father is reassigned to a newly constructed base in Kansas, and the nearest town is Smallville. Lois expects to hate it till she meets a boy there and immediately develops a crush on him. Likewise, Clark can't help falling for the new girl.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is nothing but indulgent crap. I wrote this so that I could write one-shots for this alternate universe. Fair warning, I know nothing about the military. I also know nothing about Kansas or small towns.
> 
> OK, so, enjoy yourself!

Lois’s forehead was pressed against the window of the car as she watched the flat landscape rush by. They had been driving since 5:00 AM, and it was now afternoon. On her left sat her younger sister, Lucy. Lucy was three years younger than her and had strawberry blonde hair. She was also staring out at the dry farmland. Their father, Sam, was driving at the moment. He was in his forties, as was their mother, and had blonde, short-cropped hair. Their mother, Ellen, sat in the passenger seat. She was chubby and had red hair that was cut in the pixie style. She had been asleep for the past few miles, but was now awake.

She turned to look at her girls.

“You guys want the radio on?”

“Ok,” Lucy said.

White noise blared out, and Ellen hurriedly turned down the volume and started scanning the channels. Lois leaned her head back and sighed. They were moving from Metropolis to Smallville, Kansas since her father was being reassigned. She didn’t want to move, but she didn’t have a choice. Metropolis was her favorite out of all their homes. And apparently, Smallville lived up to its name. There would be nothing to do there. She fully expected to hate it.

They drove for a few more hours, then Ellen announced, after consulting the map, that they were within a mile of their destination. When they pulled into town, Lois considered it a slight improvement to the farmland. It looked like a model of middle-American charm.

“This is cute,” Ellen said cheerfully.

“Yeah,” Sam mumbled.

He wouldn’t be spending a lot of time in town. He was going to commute between their new house and the military base several miles away. They passed through and went down a road that led to an area that looked more suburban than most of the surrounding land. There were rows of houses, but they each had about 2 acres around them. A moving truck was parked in front of one of the houses. Men were hauling furniture out the back.

“I thought they’d be done by now,” Sam muttered.

They parked on the curb and got out. Sam walked over to talk to the movers, and everyone else stretched. Lois spotted someone in the house across the street peering through their curtains. She turned to her mom.

“Mom, the neighbors are staring at us.”

Ellen smiled and shook her head.

“Neighbors will be neighbors. As if you won’t do the same thing.”

Lois looked indignant, but everyone knew she was an eavesdropper. Ellen walked over to Sam and they exchanged words before turning back to the kids.

“They’re still putting the heavy stuff in place, and it’s a mess in there, so you kids can wander around outside, if you want.”

Lucy bolted straight for the backyard, and Lois sighed and looked around. She trudged down the street, took a turn, and stumbled upon a playground beside a row of trees. There was no one around, so she walked over and sat on the swing set. Several minutes later, she heard people approaching on her left. She looked up and saw a group of about 6 teenagers walking in her direction. A blonde boy in a varsity jacket lead the group. They slowed down and muttered when they saw her, but continued walking past. She didn’t say anything. They disappeared behind the trees, and she looked away and dazed off. A minute later, however, she heard raised voices. She looked over her shoulder again. There was more yelling. One of the voices sounded like pleading. She got a bad feeling and stood up.

As she walked toward the trees, a boy yelled, “Just leave me alone, Russell!”

She walked faster. The trees ended on the edge of a steep slope. At the bottom of the slope was a dirt road, and beyond that, a wheat field. The group of kids stood on the side of the road nearest her, and across the street was a black-haired boy in a grey sweatshirt and jeans. He was clutching a book in one hand, and his eyes - which blazed with a restrained fury - were fixed on the blonde boy, who she assumed was Russell. He glanced at her, and his expression changed to confusion. Russell, following his gaze, turned and looked around at her too, as did the others. As she glanced at Russell again, she noticed something in his hand. It was a rock. She looked back at the black-haired boy. Several rocks were scattered around his feet. Her eyes widened, and she stared at the bully.

“What the hell are you doing?” she breathed.

He laughed nervously and glanced around at his friends.

“Who are you?” he asked.

She marched down the hill.

“What the _hell_ are you doing?” she said louder, anger rising in her voice.

As soon as she reached him, she shoved him to the ground. His friends gasped, cursed, and backed away quickly.

“Leave him alone!”

He gawked at her for a second before scrambling to his feet.

“C’monlet’sgo,” he muttered as he started running up the hill, but his friends were already right behind him.

She rounded on the black-haired boy, who was staring at her with a dumbfounded expression.

“Are you hurt?”

“Uh…not really.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. They didn’t hit me.”

He was a bad liar.

“We should go to a doctor.”

“No, it’s ok. Honestly.”

She frowned, but decided not to push it. Maybe he was afraid the bullying would get worse if adults got involved. She took a good look at him. His hair was curly, and he had a peculiarly handsome face. Most striking were his eyes, which were periwinkle blue. She’d never seen anyone in real life who was so good-looking. From the pitch of his voice, she guessed he was about 13.

“Thanks for standing up to those guys,” he said shyly.

“It’s nothing. I’ve never seen anything so horrible.”

He shrugged, and a second of silence passed.

“You’re not from around here.”

“No. I just moved here today, actually. I’m Lois.”

She held out her hand, and he looked at it for a moment before putting his hand in hers. He didn’t really shake back, which resulted in her flopping his arm up and down. She held back a giggle.

“I’m Clark. Welcome to Smallville.”

“Thanks.”

She let go and smiled. She got the impression that he didn’t talk to people that often.

“Where do you live?” he asked.

“Where? Oh…I don’t know the street or anything, but it’s like a mile out of town.”

“Do you know your way around? I could walk you back, if you need help.”

“No thanks, I think I got it.”

“Ok. Well…I guess I’ll see you around.”

“Yeah. And if those guys bother you again, just let me know.”

He smiled.

“Bye, Lois.”

“Bye, Clark.”

He turned and walked down the road. She watched him for a couple seconds before running back up the hill.

~

“Where’d you go, Lois?” Ellen asked as her daughter bounded through the front door.

“Nowhere, Mom. Just this playground down the street.”

“Oh, there’s a playground? Lucy, that could be fun.”

“I’m _12_ , Mom!” Lucy called angrily from the kitchen.

“Lois, can you help put things away?”

She looked around at the boxes littering the floor and opened one at her left labeled “closet”.

“Ok.”

~

Clark ran up the steps to the farmhouse and swung open the door.

“Hi, Mom!”

“Hey, there,” Martha called from the kitchen, where she was peeling potatoes.

“Some new people moved into town,” he said as he pulled off his shoes.

“New people?” she said with a hint of suspicion, “Did you see them?”

“Yeah, I met one of their kids,” he said and opened the fridge.

“How old?”

“14?”

“Well, maybe you can make friends…Be careful, though.”

“I know, Mom.”


	2. Chapter 2

Lois woke up on her old bed in her new room. She looked around. Several boxes stood against the walls. She was going to unpack everything today. She grunted as she sat up, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. She heard someone walking in the hall, then her mom appeared in the doorway.

“Morning, Lo,” she said cheerfully, “Your dad left for the base already, but I was thinking the three of us could go get breakfast at that cute little diner in town.”

“Ok.”

Ellen walked away, and a few minutes later, Lois heard Lucy’s muffled whines. She stood up and started rifling through the clothing box, looking for something to wear. As she did, she recalled the previous day. Suddenly, a sharp image of piercing blue eyes appeared in her mind. The boy. Clark, was it? As she got dressed, she wondered if he got home ok.

Ellen coaxed Lucy out of bed, and 20 minutes later, they were piling into the car. They drove into town and parked in the small lot beside the diner. When they opened the door, a bell tinkled, and everyone looked at them. A waitress behind the counter smiled. She had black hair and was in her forties.

“Good morning,” she said.

“Good morning,” Ellen said, smiling back.

They sat down in a window seat, and the waitress came over.

“What can I get for you?” she asked, flipping open a notebook.

“Well, let’s see,” Ellen began, picking up one of the menus from the behind the napkin container.

Lois and Lucy followed suit. Lois read the woman’s name tag and saw that her name was Martha.

“Can I have two waffles with blueberries and syrup on top?” Lucy said.

Martha nodded as she scribbled it down.

“I’ll have the same, plus bacon,” said Ellen.

“And how about you, honey?”

“Four pancakes with syrup, fried eggs, and bacon, please.”

“Wow, she’s got an appetite, huh?” Martha said to Ellen.

“Yeah. We didn’t really have a proper dinner last night. We just moved here yesterday.”

“I heard. My son told me. He says he met one of your girls,” she said, looking at them.

Just like that, Lois’s mind was flooded with the image of Clark’s reserved face and bright eyes again. What a coincidence that she’d met both him and his mom one day after another. Small town, she supposed.

“I didn’t meet anybody,” Lucy said and looked at Lois.

Lois nodded.

“Yeah, I met him yesterday.”

“That’s nice, honey,” said Ellen, “You’re already talking to the kids here.”

“Are you two enrolled in school, yet?” Martha asked.

“We’re starting next week,” Lucy announced.

“Well, good luck. It’s a small school, but it’s nice. We hope ya’ll like it here. Now, if you’ll forgive me for holding you up so long, I’ll go give the cook your order.”

Martha went back behind the counter, and Ellen smiled at the girls.

“She’s really nice.”

Lois, however, was distracted by thoughts of Clark.

~

“Met our neighbors in the diner this morning,” Martha said as she spooned mashed potatoes into Jonathan’s plate.

He and Clark looked up with interest.

“How are they?” Jonathan asked.

“Pleasant,” Martha said, nodding, “The husband wasn’t there, though. Probably at the base.”

“Wish they’d never built the damn thing.”

“I don’t like it either, but they’re here now, so…”

Clark passed her plate.

“Thank you, sweetheart. The mother and the two daughters, they all have red hair,” she said as she tucked in.

“They gonna go to school here?”

“Yep. Starting Monday.”

Clark listened as he ate. He had been thinking about Lois on and off since yesterday. No one had ever stood up for him like that before. He kept replaying the memory of her marching down the hill and pushing over Russell. She was fierce, but she had such a kind face when she talked to him. She was lovely, too, with her long red hair, oval face, and warm grey eyes…

“Clark,” his father said, snapping him out of his daydream, “There are outsiders here now, so you need to be extra careful.”

“I know, Dad.”

“I’m serious, son. You can’t slip up.”

Clark sighed.

“Yeah, I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clark basically starts hero-worshipping Lois.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I barely know anything about Lana Lang, except hearsay. I hear that she's a nice person, and that in the Smallville TV show, she and Lois got along, so that's what I'm going off of.

Lois sat in class on Monday, wondering if or when she was going to see Clark again. It was such a small town, she had expected to already. The combined junior high/high school building wasn’t very large, and class sizes were smaller than they had been in Metropolis. Maybe they wouldn’t run into each other at all. Her last hope was the lunch period, of which there was only one.

When the bell rung, she stood up and headed towards the cafeteria, following the stream of students. Every time she saw a boy with black hair, her heart leapt. She really needed to get a grip on herself.

“Hi, Lois!” a girl from her first period yelled as they passed.

She smiled and waved. She didn’t quite remember the girl’s name. Was it Clarissa? Or Clarise? Everyone was super friendly to her, which she was surprised at. The cafeteria doors came into view several feet away, but she glimpsed someone on the right side of the hallway, drinking from a water fountain.

“Clark!” she yelled without even thinking.

He jerked up, spilling water on his chin. She scurried up to him as he wiped his face with the sleeve of his denim jacket.

“Hi, Clark,” she chirped, unable to contain a grin.

He grinned back, looking embarrassed.

“Hi, Lois. How’s your first day?”

“Going through the motions.”

He nodded.

“Are you going to lunch?”

“M-hm. Are you?”

“Yeah. Uh, since you don’t know anyone, maybe we can, uh…sit together. If you want.”

She grinned again.

“Thanks!”

She followed him into the cafeteria. People stared at them as they passed, but Clark kept his eyes straight ahead. He led her through the lunch line, then toward the back of the room. Suddenly, he hesitated, and a look of dread crossed his face.

“What is it?” she asked.

He glanced at her and shook his head.

“Nothing.”

He kept walking and stopped at a table where a black-haired girl and a brown-haired boy, who was on a Game Boy, sat. They looked up curiously.

“Hey, Lana, Mike. This is Lois. She just moved here.”

Mike waved, and Lana smiled at her.

“Hi, Lois. Welcome to Smallville.”

“Thanks.”

Clark sat down across from Lana, and Lois sat beside him.

“So, how do you like it so far?” Lana asked.

“It’s nice…It’s not what I’m used to.”

Lana pursed her lips sympathetically.

“It must be hard to move to a new place.”

“I’m used to it, actually. My dad’s in the army.”

“Oh, cool. What grade are you in?”

“10th.”

Clark, who was picking through his apple slices, looked up at her in surprise.

“You’re 15?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Lois said, slowly, giving him a weird look, “How old are you?”

“I’m 13.”

“That’s what I thought. You don’t look 13, though.”

“How’d you know I was, then?”

“Your voice. No offense.”

He laughed, and the sound made her insides bubble with happiness.

“None taken. I thought you were 14. All of us are 13.”

When Lois looked back at the others, she noticed that Lana was staring between her and Clark. She got a sick feeling in her gut. If Clark already had something with this girl, then she didn’t plan on butting in.

The lunch period passed alright, if a little awkwardly at times. When Clark and Lois talked to each other for a little too long, there was a period of tense silence for a couple seconds after. Lana was still nice to her, however. When the bell rung, they stood up.

“See you around, Lois,” Lana said, smiling.

“Yeah, you too.”

Clark showed Lois where to drop off her tray.

“Most of the time, Lana sits with her other friends,” he said, trying to make it sound like an aside.

“Are you guys, like, a thing?” she asked casually.

“No,” he said, but she could tell it was more complicated than that.

She wasn’t about to pry. It wasn’t her business, and she didn’t even know him. They walked out the cafeteria together.

“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said.

“Yeah. Bye.”

They parted ways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you're wondering, Mike didn't talk because he was playing his Game Boy the whole time.  
> P.S. I like comments.


	4. Chapter 4

Clark stood beside the tractor as his dad tinkered under the hood. Jonathan’s hands were covered in grease.

“Let me kick it, Dad.”

“Kicking it isn’t gonna fix what’s wrong it.”

“It might. It’ll shake it up.”

“You might break something.”

“I’ll be careful.”

Jonathan didn’t answer, and Clark knew he wasn’t going to let him, so he sighed and looked around. Jonathan lay down on the creeper and rolled underneath the tractor. Clark heard two people approaching on the road, and he looked through the corn stalks. His heart leapt when he saw that it was Lois with her sister.

“I’ll be right back,” he said quickly before walking off.

“Hey, wait! Where are you going?” Jonathan called, then grunted in frustration as he heard Clark’s footsteps continue to recede.

Clark walked between the drying corn stalks, which rustled loudly around him. On the road, the girls heard the noise.

“It’s a wild animal,” Lucy whispered fearfully and slipped behind her sister, “There are coyotes in Kansas, you know? And bobcats and foxes.”

Lois cast her a disapproving glance, but called out, “Hello?”

“Hi!” Clark called back, “It’s Clark!”

Lois was happier than she could externally express, especially not in front of her sister. She looked at Lucy.

“See, it’s just Clark.”

“Who’s Clark?” Lucy asked, crinkling her nose.

Clark finally stumbled out of the field. He smiled and waved, then shoved his hands deep in the pockets of his hoodie.

“Hey.”

“Hi. Fancy seeing you here. This is my sister Lucy.”

Lucy waved at him.

“Hi. What are you guys doing?” Clark asked.

“Taking a walk. What are you doing?”

“Helping my dad with the tractor,” he said, pointing behind him with his thumb, “It’s broken down.”

“Do you live here? On this farm?”

“Yeah.”

“Cool.”

“We live in town,” Lucy said.

Clark smiled.

“Yeah, I know.”

A brief pause occurred where Clark and Lois stared at each other. Lucy glanced between them before rolling her eyes and walking away. Lois chuckled and glanced down, as did Clark.

“Uh, I should probably get back to my Dad.”

“Ok. See you in school.”

Clark turned and walked back through the field. When he emerged on the other side, Jonathan was under the hood again.

“Where’d you go?”

“Nowhere.”

Jonathan looked at him, then sighed and looked down.

“You’ve been different since the Lanes showed up…Do you like the older girl?”

Clark looked away.

“Yeah,” he mumbled eventually.

“What about Lana?”

He kicked the ground.

“Lana and I aren’t really a thing.”

“You’ve known her longer.”

Clark could hear the implication in his father’s words: Lana was safer because she already knew his secrets. Lois was an outsider. She was dangerous. Clark hated what his dad said sometimes, but he couldn’t deny when he had a point. He had considered this himself. Lana was sweet, and he liked her, he really did. But there was just something about Lois. She’d lit a fire under him from the moment he saw her. He didn’t know about soulmates, but he knew he wanted to be around her all the time.

Jonathan watched his son’s conflicted expression.

“Just don’t break anyone’s heart, son.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clark rescues Lois. Don't expect much from me.

Lois and Lucy walked for about 15 more minutes, then Lucy decided she wanted to go back home. Lois, however, kept going. She spotted some trees in the distance and was desperate for a change from the seemingly endless grass and crops. When she reached the small forest, she marched through, enjoying the crisp sounds of sticks and leaves snapping and crackling beneath her feet. The light dimmed as evening set in. She decided to turn around, made a wide U-turn, and headed back.

Suddenly, she stepped on something, and it bit her. She yelped and tripped, then looked down at her left foot. It wasn’t an animal, but a coil spring trap. The steel teeth had dug in above her ankle. She sat up, grabbed the jaws and pulled, but the teeth shifted excruciatingly in her flesh.

She gasped for air, taking a moment to try and compose herself, then screamed.

“Help! Help! Help!”

She gritted her teeth and pulled again. She squeezed her eyes shut and growled with the effort, but it was no use.

“Help, please!”

She noticed that the trap had a chain attached to it. She tugged to see if it was loose. It wasn’t. She gingerly crawled forward and found that it was attached to the root of a tree.

“Fuck!”

~

Clark stood in the kitchen with his Mom, stirring a pot of spaghetti. He thought he’d heard a loud noise, but he hadn’t been listening. He waited for it again, head cocked slightly.

“Help! Please, somebody!”

It was a girl, and she sounded desperate. The voice was familiar, but it was hard to say who, since it was so strained. He dropped the fork and ran out the kitchen.

“I have to go.”

“Wait, Clark!” Martha said, but he was already out the door.

He ran through the field. The girl screamed for about a minute, then stopped. Her voice was coming from the direction of the woods. She cursed furiously, and he finally recognized her voice. It was Lois. His feet kicked up dirt as they hit the ground.

~

Tears ran down her cheeks as she tried in vain to open the trap again. It wasn’t dark enough for her parents to start panicking, and if no one had heard her, then they wouldn’t be looking for her. She was going to have to suffer alone in the dark for hours. She hoped she wouldn’t lose her foot. Faintly, she heard thudding footfalls and perked up.

“Hey! Hey, I’m over here!”

Out of the shadows, someone appeared, and it took her a second to recognize him.

“Clark, my foot’s stuck in this thing!”

He stood over her and looked down at it.

“Help me pull it open,” she said as she reached down again.

He squatted, pushed her hands away, and opened the jaws as easily as if they were the flaps of a cardboard box. She was shocked, but had the wherewithal to pull her leg out. She winced as she laid her foot on the ground. He tossed the closed trap aside, scooped her up in his arms effortlessly, and started walking back. She stared at him, and he looked at her gently.

“You’re gonna be ok, Lois. I’m gonna take you to the nearest house and then get your parents and the doctor.”

“Thank you,” she mumbled.

She leaned her head against his chest and clenched one hand in his warm, cotton shirt.

He stopped on a porch and yelled for someone to come to the door. Lois turned her head and saw a grizzled old man answer it. He looked puzzled, but then saw her bloody wound.

“Geez, bring her in!” he exclaimed, throwing the screen door open and standing aside, “Who is that?”

“Lois Lane,” Clark said, stepping inside, “Sorry to intrude, but she stepped on a trap out in the woods, and her parents live a few miles away. Is it alright if I lay her here?”

“Yeah, absolutely.”

He set her gently on the couch.

“I’m gonna call the doctor, and then your parents, ok?” Clark said.

She nodded. He had a soothing manner. She wondered if he had done this before. The old man appeared again, with a first aid kit.

“Gonna bandage you up, miss.”

He knelt down beside her as Clark stood up.

“Where’s your telephone?” he asked.

“Kitchen.”

Clark was gone then, and the man soaked a cotton ball in alcohol and dabbed it on the teeth marks. She cringed and hissed.

“There, there… _Ha ha_ , you’re bleeding on my couch. I should have put a towel down.”

“Sorry.”

“No, don’t worry yourself. You’re in a worse state than this old thing.”

When he was done disinfecting it, he wrapped it in gauze to stem the bleeding. Clark came back and stood to the side, watching. Her mom arrived before the doctor, bursting in and rushing to her side.

“Oh, Lois! Lois, what happened?!”

She grabbed her hands. Lois noticed her mother’s hands were shaking.

“I’m ok, Mom. I just stepped on a trap.”

“Oh, honey. How did you get out of it?”

Lois glanced at Clark and saw fear in his eyes.

“Clark helped me pry it open. We used a stick.”

“Oh, my goodness…”

Ellen was almost in tears. She glanced at Clark again, and he looked relieved. The doctor walked in shortly after. He removed the bandages to examine the wound, then replaced them with fresh ones and gave her some pain medication. The whole time, Clark stood in the corner, practically invisible and being ignored by everyone.

 “From now on, be careful of where you’re walking and whose land you’re on,” the doctor advised.

She nodded, and he stood up. Suddenly, the screen door swung open violently, and her dad ran in.

“Lois, are you alright?”

“I’m fine, Dad.”

“How did this happen?”

“She stepped on a trap in the woods,” said the doctor.

“How long was she out there?” he asked almost angrily.

“Not long. This young man saved her.”

He gestured to Clark, who tried to make himself smaller. Sam looked at him for a second, then back at the doctor.

“Who the hell put that trap out there?”

“The owner of the land, Sir.”

“Who owns the land?”

“Honey,” Ellen said, touching his arm.

There was a short rap on the door, and Jonathan opened it.

“Excuse me. I’m here for my son.”

Clark stepped forward, but Sam stopped him with a hand on his arm.

“Thank you,” he said, holding out his hand.

Clark glanced down as he shook it. When they let go, he looked at Lois.

“Goodnight, Clark.”

“Night, Lois.”

He swallowed and walked out the door before his father. Outside, the neighbors were standing around.

“That girl alright, Jonathan?” one of them asked.

“Yeah, she’s alright,” he said, but it came out almost as a grumble.

The ride back to the Kent farm was dead silent. Clark stared straight ahead.

“Did you do anything?” Jonathan asked in a dangerously low voice.

Clark knew what he meant: Did you use your powers? Clark wanted to lie, using the explanation Lois gave, but he was terrible at it. So, instead, he sighed aggravatedly.

“Clark,” Jonathan said, raising his voice, “You _cannot_ keep doing this. If you _have_ to help people, find another way. It’s ok to call someone. Let the police deal with it. Her father is a colonel. The army is 40 miles out of town now. You cannot keep taking these risks. Do you wanna go into hiding, is that what you want? Do you want to be a roamer, a refugee? Someone who can’t even use his real name or put down roots anywhere?”

“She lied for me, Dad!” Clark blurted, “She lied to them. And her Mom believed it. You know no one in this town would ever rat on me. Nothing bad is gonna come from this, Dad.”

“Maybe not this time. But next time…or the time after that,” he said, then sighed, “You’re young, Clark. You’ve got a whole life ahead of you. If you keep doing this…I don’t know how much longer…”

Clark looked out the window as tears welled in his eyes.

“It’s not fair.”

Jonathan glanced at his son, feeling a lump rise in his own throat. He reached over and squeezed his shoulder.

“I know, son. I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's almost done. :'(  
> Just kidding, I'm not sad...because there are more one-shots to come in this AU.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a short and sweet ending.

Lois was in bed for a week, popping pain meds and getting spoiled by her parents. Lucy was in need of consolation since she blamed herself for Lois wandering off.

“Don’t be silly,” Lois told her, giving her a bear hug, “I decided to walk off, didn’t I? It’s my own fault.”

The neighbors brought over all kinds of food and get-well cards. When she got back to school (on crutches), lots of students wanted her to recount the event as if it were a dangerous adventure story. The thing that didn’t interest most of them, however, was the part with Clark. Some people pretended to be surprised that he showed up. She wondered if the whole town already knew about his incredible strength. Maybe it was an open secret here.

She wanted to talk to him at lunch, but some of her new friends dragged her over to their table. She frequently looked over at him sitting with Mike. When school ended, she waited outside for her mom to pick her up. She did her homework on the couch, then secretly called the Kents after finding their number in the phone book. Clark answered.

“Can you meet me at the playground?” she said softly so her mom wouldn’t hear from upstairs.

He hesitated before answering, “Yes.”

She snuck out the house as quietly as she could with crutches. When she arrived at the playground, she leaned them against the swing set legs and sat down. Clark showed up a couple minutes later and sat in the swing to her left.

“How’s your ankle?”

“Better. Doesn’t hurt like a bitch anymore, but that’s mostly because of the pills.”

He smiled, but she could tell something was bothering him.

“Thank you,” he said, “For protecting me…again.”

She smiled.

“What are you thanking me for? You saved me,” she said lightly.

He was silent.

“You don’t have to worry about me telling anyone what really happened. I promise, I would never.”

She could tell from his eyes that he believed her. She held out her left hand. He hesitated a moment before placing his right hand in her palm. She shook it, and his arm didn’t flop this time. Neither of them let go. He looked away shyly, as did she, and scuffed her good foot against the mulch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The End.
> 
> Thanks for reading, and please leave a comment on your way out.
> 
> \- EN


End file.
